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Opinion Contributor

FCC rule change would favor big media

The authors say the move would mean fewer voices and less local control. | Jay Westcott/POLITICO

By SEN. BERNIE SANDERS and MICHAEL COPPS | 12/18/12 9:48 PM EST

A cornerstone of American democracy is a free and open press providing diverse viewpoints. As Thomas Jefferson said in 1823, “The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted to be freely expressed.” In America today, however, a trend toward corporate media consolidation is drowning diverse opinions and eliminating local control. In 1983, 90 percent of the American media was owned by 50 companies. Today, 90 percent is controlled by just six corporations: General Electric, News Corp., Disney, Viacom, Time Warner and CBS.

The Federal Communications Commission may be on the verge of making a bad situation worse. It is considering a rule change that would clear the way for even more media consolidation. All Americans should be deeply concerned.

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The FCC has been down this road before, only to be blocked by Congress and the courts and a groundswell of grass-roots opposition. One of the leading opponents of a 2007 effort by the commission was a young senator named Barack Obama. “For too long now, the FCC has been putting corporate interests ahead of the people’s interests. It’s time for that to change. We will keep fighting until we have a free and open media that represents every American in our diverse nation,” Obama wrote in a joint statement with Sen. John Kerry. They opposed watering down the media cross-ownership rules, now in place for 35 years, that have at least helped preserve a semblance of diversity.

The failed 2007 bid to change the rules came after a similar 2003 effort to weaken the limits on cross-ownership that prevented a handful of media conglomerates from completely dominating ownership of the news outlets in our communities. Those proposals met with 3 million public comments, 99 percent of which opposed the FCC’s proposal. The Senate rejected each of the attempts to weaken the rules by passing bipartisan resolutions of disapproval. A federal appeals court also rejected the FCC proposals.

Now the FCC is at it again. The commission’s latest proposal would allow more media consolidation by eliminating a ban on cross-ownership in the top 20 media markets. The FCC changes would allow one corporation to own a major newspaper, two television stations and up to eight radio stations, and to provide Internet service all in one market. That would mean fewer voices, less local control and more corporate media consolidation. Although the proposed FCC rule would retain a “presumption” against newspaper ownership by a top-four television station owner in a given market, there is an escape hatch that lets the FCC waive that presumption. Moreover, the new rule would assume a presumption in favor of cross-ownership of major newspapers by television station owners outside of the top four, which means in some cases the new rules would actually favor further consolidation.

Readers' Comments (1)

Interesting that Obama picked 3 (1 Democrat & 2 Republicans) out of the 5 current commissioners. He should have been looking toward independent commissioners instead of cowardly avoiding a Senate confirmation fight.

And apparently, if the FCC has their way, corporate media conglomeration will get worse with Comcast (the top provider of video and residential internet service) buying a 51% stake in NBC Universal from GE.

We should have way more competition, not the current state of monopolies and price-fixing! Capitalism is suppose to be a lot of competition to drive down prices. That is not happening. The prices and fees for service are getting worse every year! Information to the American public should not be left in the hands of greedy corporate executives only looking to increase their profit margins. And we certainly don't want a one political party takeover of the media so they can propagandize their agenda with impunity.